SIGN: The Musical
by Scribbler86
Summary: A playstory based off Jonathan Larson's RENT, about eight friends a mix of Deaf, HOH, Hearing, CODAs, SODAs, etc attending California State University, Northridge during the dawn of the new millennium. Culture clashes, language oppression, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to Jonathan Larson's "RENT"

A/N: After listening to "RENT" (what feels like the 100th time), my friends and I came to the conclusion that RENT could be rewritten to fit a story about language and cultural identity in the Deaf community, "Bohemia" replaced with the deaf culture and "Calcutta" with Oralism. This story now takes place at California State University, Northridge (one of the Big Three deaf-friendly universities after RIT (Rochester Inst. Of Tech) and Gallaudet University. It is a story about eight friends living in the Deaf Dorm during the dawn of the new millennium. The theme of AIDS has been replaced with CI (cochlear implants – the killers of the Deaf culture) The idea of Cyberland has been retained – CyberArts replaced by Sorenson, the video relay company that steals interpreters from the traditional educational setting and relocating them to a TV screen interpreting service, which they are protesting to.

CHARACTERS: (I have retained the original names to make it easier to identify who is who)

ROGER: A deaf person raised in Cued Speech (a phonetic-based sign system) and sports a cochlear implant – considers himself "Hearing"

MIMI: Deaf, raised in Total Communication (signing and speaking simultaneously) and wears a cochlear implant as well but considers herself a member of the Deaf community.

ANGEL: A CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult) Angel was raised by Deaf parents and her native language is ASL instead of English even though she can hear fine and considers herself a member of the Deaf community. (I have decided to keep Angel a cross-dresser for the sake of die-hard fans ; )

COLLINS: A hard of hearing person raised Oral and picked up sign language later in life – losing his hearing rapidly (and will get a cochlear implant later on in the play)

MARK: A SODA (A sibling of a Deaf Adult), Mark has a deaf sibling and knows ASL enough to communicate with his friends. He is an aspiring filmmaker, set to document Deaf history and considers it his obligation to partake in the community on account of his sibling.

MAUREEN: A capital-D-Deaf individual, Maureen is a die-hard supporter of ASL and is intent on ensuring the Deaf rights of herself and others, especially with the protest against Sorenson VRS.

JOANNE: A hearing Deaf-Studies major with a concentration in Law and the Deaf, does some side interpreting outside of classes – fluent in ASL, and a supporter of the Deaf culture.

BENNY: a hearing Deaf-Studies major with a concentration in the medical aspect of deafness (aka Alexander Graham Bell with his idea of enforcing oralism instead of manualism in the community – the 'evil-doer' of the Deaf community, so I portrayed Benny after AGB) Knows ASL to a degree but won't use it unless he absolutely has to – works for Sorenson VRS which he thinks would improve the Deaf community and supports cochlear implantation. He is against ASL as a mode of communication.

I have chosen to follow the movie order for the time being but later I plan to revise it back to the original libretto format. Voice interpreters provided for Roger, Mimi, Maureen, and Collins. Benny, Joanne, and Mark will use sim-com (speaking/signing at the same time). A voice interpreter will be provided for Angel, depending on her lines/lyrics.

SIGN: The Musical

Eight characters walk on single-file ontstage– setup like the movie except the lights are in front of them instead of behind them in order to see them signing. Voice interpreters form a second line behind them with 'windows' between. The eight in front start to sign, starting small and building up emotional levels to full-out gospel-style signing. We as the audience are not supposed to notice the second line made up of voice interpreters though they are there merely for the benefit of hearing (sign impaired)audiences so they may enjoy this unique form of RENT from a new perspective.

To Signs of Love

ALL  
_Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred handsigns  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Messages so dear  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred handsigns  
How do you measure, measure a sign? _

In inflection, in handshapes, direction,  
In location,  
In movement, in size, in laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred handsigns  
How do you measure  
A sign in our life?

How about ILY? (sing love, sign the 'ILY') _  
How about ILY?  
How about ILY? Measure with ILY. _

To signs of love, to signs of love

JOANNE  
_Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred handsigns  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Messages to sign _

Five hundred twenty-five thousand  
Six hundred handsigns  
How do you share A-S-L  
With hearing women or men?

COLLINS  
_In signs that she learned  
Or the times that he tried  
In gestures that he returned  
Or the way that she cried?_

ALL  
_It's time to sign out  
Tho the culture never ends  
Let's celebrate  
Remember a sign in the times of friends  
Remember the ILY!  
Remember the ILY!  
To signs of love!  
_  
JOANNE  
_Oh you got to remember the sign!  
Remember the signs!  
You measure with signs,_

_know that signs is a gift from up above  
Share sign, give sign, spread sign measure  
measure your words with signs! _

_(fade out)_

SCENE: Roger and Mark's dorm room at Cal State U Northridge at night. They are doing homework- we see laptops and the usual college dorm life. We can see that Mark is practicing his sign skills for an ASL class and out of frustration, he throws the textbook down and burst into song. Roger, on the other hand, is trying to tune up his guitar but it's difficult to gauge the pitch when one is deaf. He agrees with Mark that their given methods of communication do create barriers of their own kind, even in the Deaf community on campus.

SIGN

MARK

_How do we sign it right when our hands are getting more like English each _

_day?_

_Oralsim-audism – blow my mind_

_And now this cultural division – their way"_

_Sign!_

ROGER

_How do you cue a word when the_

_Hands feel wrong,_

_Though they once felt right and Rare? _

_When the fingers cramp_

_Where are the cue skills you once used to _

_Ignite the air?_

MARK

_And we're cramped and frozen_

ROGER

_Some method they've chosen_

ROGER and MARK

_How we gonna sign? _

_How we gonna sign?_

_How we gonna sign? A – S – L?_

ROGER

_How do you learn to talk when there's nothing_

_to hear and it feels like something's stuck in your mouth_

MARK

_How can you make talk_

_When you can't in the dark?_

ROGER and MARK

_And it's getting old!_

MARK

_You start up cultural fights_

ROGER

_With Audism_

MARK

_And deaf rights_

ROGER and MARK

_How we gonna sign? _

_How we gonna sign?_

_How we gonna sign? A – S – L?_

(Downstage, a light shines on while hearing thugs beat up Collins and break his hearing aids)

COLLINS

_How do you retain your signs when in every school_

_It's speech or sign and today it's speech_

"_Welcome back to school" I close my eyes_

_Everything's cool and uh-oh_

_I feel dumb_

MARK

_Where's the gain?_

COLLINS

_Say that again_

ROGER AND MARK

_How we gonna sign_

(Various college students come out and line up on the balcony while others congregate on the platform - they are not interacting with either Collins or Mark/Roger. They range from Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Hearing people majoring in Deaf Studies but know sign, deaf people with cochlear implants, CODAs, SODAs, etc.)

STUDENTS

_How we gonna sign_

_How we gonna sign_

R, M, STUDENTS

_A – S – L_

MARK

"_The fingers ignites the night with passionate fire"_

ROGER

"_the language crackles and pops with incendiary wit"_

MARK

_Zoom in as they destroy the deaf culture_

ROGER AND MARK

_And feel the heat of the future's glow_

_How do you leave English behind_

_When it keeps finding ways to get to your hands?_

_It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out_

_Til you're torn apart_

_Sign!_

R, M, STUDENTS

_How can you connect in an age_

_With the Deaf, hearing, Codas_

_Your sign skills betray_

_What keeps the culture intact_

_When the new technology of advance_

_keep ripping away!_

(Benny walks on stage and stands in the center while the others notice his presence and throw insults at him in sign language as they know that Benny, even though he is a Deaf Studies major, he is not an ally of the Deaf community.)

BENNY

_Draw a line in the sand_

_And then make a stand_

ROGER

_Use your fingers to spar_

MARK

_Use your guitar_

STUDENTS

_When they act tough – you call their bluff_

ROGER AND MARK

_We're not gonna sign_

ROGER, MARK and STUDENTS

_We're not gonna sign_

_We're not gonna sign_

_S – E – E! P – S – E!_

_M – C – E!_

_Sign sign sign sign sign_

_We're not gonna sign those!_

_Cause everything is SIGN!_

(Lights dim - new chapter coming soon)

(SEE (Signed Exact English), PSE (Pidgin Signed English), MCE (Manually Coded English) are various English-based sign system and they are referring to "cause everything is sign" means no matter what language or method a deaf child is reared on, be it Oralism, Signed English, ASL, Cued Speech, etc they all end up signing ASL in the end)


	2. Chapter 2

SCENE: Outside Dorm building – Benny used to room up with Roger and Mark but after getting the job with Sorenson VRS (Video Relay Services - where Deaf people can call VRS to get an interpreter on the television screen to call hearing people) he has moved out. He is trying to convince them that they need a video relay system hooked up to their TV to communicate with hearing callers via a virtual interpreter on the screen. (Most deaf people prefer live one-on-one contact with interpreters rather than one via a TV screen). Sorenson VRS has been recruiting interpreters from educational settings so there is a crying need for more interpreters in schools and colleges and this is affecting the education of Deaf children and adults - hence Maureen's future protest against Sorenson).

ROGER

_What happened to Benny_

_What happened to his heart_

_And the ideals he once pursued?_

BENNY

_And the worker of that place next door_

_Has a right to do with it as he pleases_

ROGER

_Happy birthday, Jesus!_

BENNY

_TV?_ (tv where?)

MARK

_You're wasting your time_

ROGER

_We're deaf _(Meaning that he is deaf and Mark is 'culturally deaf')

MARK

_And you broke your word – this is absurd_

BENNY

_Welcome to the world of video relay_

ROGER

_I knew it!_

BENNY

_Next door, the home of Sorenson, you see_

_And now that block is re-zoned_

_My dream can become a reality_

_You'll see boys…_

_You'll see boys_

_A state of the art, digital, virtual_

_Video relay station_

_I'll set the TV and on paper guarantee_

_That you can keep it for free_

_If you do me one small favor_

MARK

What?

BENNY

_Convince Maureen to cancel her protest_

MARK

_Why not just get an injunction or call_

_The cops_

BENNY

_Yeah, I did, and they're on stand-by but_

_Investors would rather I handle this _

_quietly_

ROGER

_You can't quietly steal all the terps in the city_

_Than watch that "Signing Time" show on _

_TV! ("Signing Time"_ can be found on PBS on Mondays at 1pm, PST

BENNY

_You want to call hearies and talk with them?_

_You need a way to do it!_

_It's what I used to dream about_

_Think twice before you pooh pooh it_

_You'll see boys_

_You'll see boys_

_You'll see – the beauty of VRS_

_That lets us do our work and get paid_

_With Terps in the box_

_Whose work keeps us in touch_

_Just the protest_

_And you'll have it made_

_You'll see – or you'll lose_

Blackout, lights on to reveal the dorm room again

One Sign Glory

(Roger's lament to his parents, asking them why they chose not to sign with him – regret that his parents never learned to sign. His parents are hearing and they wanted Roger to live a normal life, and decided to raise him in the Oral-Cued Speech program, severing any ties with the Deaf community. Now that he's older and makes his own decicisons, he has enrolled in CSUN, a mainstream university of 30,000 which caters to 300 Deaf/HOH students and he has discovered that Deaf people do have a language of their own - sign language. He wants to know why he wasn't given the opporunity to communicate in ASL growing up.)

_One sign. Glory. One sign._

_Before I go, glory_

_One sign to keep with me_

_Say one sign, one signed word, glory_

_From parents of a deaf boy, _

_Who wasted opporunity_

_One sign, they had the sign on their hands_

_Glory_

_In the eyes of a young boy, a young boy_

_Show glory, under the bright kitchen lights_

_One sign, before the sun sets_

_Glory- for the boy's empty ears_

_Time flies – time dies_

_Glory – one blaze of glory_

_One blaze of glory_

_Say, glory, in a sign that shows true_

_Truth like a blazing fire, an eternal flame_

_Say one sign, a sign about love_

_Glory, from the hands of a parent_

_A parent_

_Show, the one sign_

_Before the parents forget, glory_

_Like a sunset_

_One sign_

_To redeem those lost years_

_Time flies_

_And then no need to endure anymore_

_Time dies_

(Dorm room – Mimi rings the flashing doorbell and enters, carrying her broken Sidekick (Tmobile - don't own the rights) as an excuse to meet Roger. Both characters have a cochlear implant - Roger speaks to her while Mimi lipreads him and respond in Total Communication, exposing him to more sign language.)

**Fix My Sidekick**

ROGER

_What da ya need?_

MIMI

_Sidekick's dead_

ROGER

_I know you – wait – how'd it die?_

MIMI

_It's not working I dropped it_

_And I'm a little clumsy on my feet_

_Would you fix my sidekick?_

_What are you staring at?_

ROGER

_Nothing, your ear with the C I…_

_You look familiar_

_Can you hear me?_

MIMI

_Just haven't worn it much today_

_At least my head stopped ringing_

_Anyway. What?_

ROGER

_Nothing, your smile reminded me of_

MIMI

_I always remind people of – who is she?_

ROGER

_Hearing. Her name was April_

MIMI

_Say it again…_

_Sorry about your friend_

_Would you fix my sidekick?_

ROGER

_Well_

MIMI

_Yeah. What?_

ROGER

_Oh, my speech – it's_

MIMI

_slipping – I hear it – a little _

ROGER

_Rusty, I figured…_

_Oh, well. Goodnight_

_It broke down again?_

MIMI

_No – I think I dropped my notebook_

ROGER

_I know I've seen you out and about_

_When I used to go out_

_Your sidekick's off_

MIMI

_I can't find – I had it when_

_I walked in the door_

_It was new - is it on the floor?_

ROGER

_The floor?_

MIMI

_They say I'm the only one_

_Below 14th street. Is it true?_

ROGER

_What_?

MIMI

_You're talking again_.

ROGER

_Oh no._

_I mean you are – not the only - _

_I mean – you look familiar_

MIMI

_Like your hearing friend?_

ROGER

_Only when you smile_

_But I'm sure I've seen you_

_Somewhere else - _

MIMI

_Do you go to the O. C. Block?_

_That's where I go – I chat._

ROGER

_Yes! They used to sign with you - _

MIMI

_To socialize_

ROGER

_I didn't recognize you,_

_Without the implant_

MIMI

_We could fix my sidekick_

_Oh won't you fix my sidekick?_

ROGER

_Why don't you forget that stuff?_

_You look like you're hearing_

MIMI

_I'm still deaf - but I'm on both sides_

_Born to hearing parents_

ROGER

_I once was born a hearing_

_I used to talk like that way_

MIMI

_I'm not oral – I told you_

ROGER

_I used to cue_

MIMI

_I use T C_

ROGER

_Uh huh_

_You're speaking right now_

MIMI

_But now and then I like to_

ROGER

_Uh huh_

MIMI

_Voice it…_

ROGER

_Oh, here it - um_

MIMI

_What's that?_

ROGER

_Remote controller_

MIMI

_We could fix my sidekick_

_Oh, what'd you do with my sidekick?_

ROGER

_The screen went all black_

MIMI

_Our eyes'll adjust, thank_

_God for the moon_

ROGER

_Maybe it's not the moon at all_

_I hear "Signing Time's" shooting down the _

_Street_

MIMI

_Whatever….whatever…_

ROGER

_Cold hands_

MIMI

_Yours too_

_Big. Like my father's_

_Do you wanna sign?_

ROGER

_English?_

MIMI

_No – in A S L_

ROGER

_I'm Roger_

MIMI

_They call me_

_They call me Mimi…._

(Next chapter coming soon)


	3. Chapter 3

(Dorm room – Collins has moved back into the dorm room – about to introduce Angel to Mark and Roger…. You know the rest of that part – grins- ; )

English 4 U

COLLINS

_Gentlemen, our advocator on this_

_Christmas Day_

_Whose support is only matched by_

_Talent, I must say_

_A new member of the Alphabet City_

_Avant-garde…_

_Angel Dumott Schunard!_

(Angel enters – complete with the Santa suit;) and sings out that she prefers to communicate in ASL even though she is hearing and perfectly capable of speaking English). The 'lady in the limo' mentioned is Allison – she's sick of her husband's (Benny) cell phone and wants it dead… so that's the 'Akita-Evita' part.)

ANGEL

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASL for me_

COLLINS

_And you should see her beat!_

MARK

_You learned this on the street?_

ANGEL

_It was my lucky day today on Avenue A_

_When a lady in a limousine drove my way_

_She said, "Dahling – be a dear – haven't_

_Talked in a year_

_I need your help to make my husband's cell phone disappear"_

_"This Akita-Evita he won't turn off_

_I believe if you call non-stop that stuff_

_Will ring its very last high-strung ring_

_I'm certain that cur will ring itself to Death"_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_We agreed on a fee_

_A thousand dollar guarantee_

_Tax-free – and a bonus if I trim her tree_

_Now who could foretell that it would go_

_So well_

_But sure as I am here that phone is now_

_In phony hell_

_After an hour – Evita – in all her glory_

_Tossed out the window of that 23rd story_

_Like Thelma and Louise did when they_

_Got the blues_

_Nose-dove into the courtyard of the_

_Gracie Mews_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_Back on the street where I met my_

_sweet_

_Where he was moaning and groaning_

_On the cold concrete_

_The nurse took him home for some_

_Mercurochrome_

_Then I dressed his wounds and got him_

_Back on his feet_

_Sign it!_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASL for me_

_English for you – ASLLLL….._

_L-aaahhh – for me!_

(Maureen sends Mark an instant-message which he replies via his laptop – the others crowd behind him and read aloud the 'voice mail' ('text mail') from her and poke fun at Mark about their relationship. On the stage, the IM conversation will also be shown on a pull-down film screen (also used in "over the Moon" later on).

(Mark and Joanne meet for the first time and they both assume the other is deaf but find out that they both are hearing – even though they are signing to each other, it is from habit. The pull-down film screen remains to be used for "Over the Moon" to broadcast Maureen to every point in the audience. Joanne's trying to get it to work, hence the 'microphone' (Maureen doesn't need one – she delivers her protest in sign language but the TV screens aren't working, hence Mark's help. "Tango: Maureen" is about Mark and Joanne complaining that Maureen takes it too hard on them – she expects them to know and understand sign whereas they are still struggling to understand the Deaf culture's ways and values).

"Tango Maureen"

JOANNE

_My English won't go away – but my fingers_

MARK

_There's another way_

_Sign something – anything_

(Joanne turns to check that the TV screens are on and faces the audience and recites the ASL ABCs in a cheesy way)

JOANNE

_Sign – A, B, C –_

(Mark looks up from his post trying to fix one of the TV screens and grimaces)

MARK

_Anything but that_

JOANNE

_This is weird_

(Weird how they are signing to each other whereas they could voice to each other and still understand)

MARK

_It's weird_

JOANNE

_Very weird_

MARK

_Fuckin' weird_

JOANNE

_I'm so mad that I don't know what to do_

_Fighting with deaf teachers_

_Fuming with other signers_

_And to top it all, I'm sore too_

MARK

_Feel like going insane?_

_Got a fire in your brain?_

_And you're thinking of drinking gasoline?_

JOANNE

_As a matter of fact –_

MARK

_Honey, I know this act_

_It's called the 'Tango Maureen'_

_The Tango Maureen_

_It's a dark, dizzy merry-go-round_

_As she keeps you dangling_

JOANNE

_You're wrong_

MARK

_Your mind she is mangling_

JOANNE

_It's different with me_

MARK

_And you toss and you turn_

_'Cause her cold eyes can burn_

_Yet you yearn and you churn and rebound_

JOANNE

_I think I know what you mean_

BOTH

_The Tango Maureen_

MARK

_Has she ever pursed her lips_

_And called you 'hearing-think'?_ (An insult in the Deaf community – for hearing people who are ignorant of the deaf culture or deaf people who think and act like hearing people)

JOANNE

_Never_

MARK

_Have you ever doubted a grin or two?_

JOANNE

_This is spooky_

_Did you groan when_

_She walked though the door?_

MARK

_Every time – so be cautious_

JOANNE

_Did she frown upon the Hearings?_

MARK

_More than frown_

JOANNE

_I'm getting nauseous_

MARK

_Where did you learn to sign?_

JOANNE

The Deaf Studies department

at Cal State University, Northridge,

And you?

MARK

From my deaf sister

She goes to California School

For the Deaf, Riverside

It's hard to do this backwards

JOANNE

_You should try it left-handed!_

_She criticized_

MARK

_She criticized_

JOANNE

_Maureen criticized_

MARK

_Fuckin' criticized_

JOANNE

_I'm defeated, I should give up right_

_now_

MARK

_Gotta look on the bright side_

_With all your might_

JOANNE

_I'd fail her test anyhow_

BOTH

_When you're signing her dance_

_You don't stand a chance_

_Her view of culture makes you bawl_

MARK

_So you think, might as well…_

JOANNE

_Sign a tango to hell_

BOTH

_At least I'll have signed at all_

_The Tango Maureen_

_Gotta sign 'til your deaf friend is through_

_You pretend to believe her 'cause in the_

_End – you can't leave her_

_But the end it will come_

_Still you have to play dumb_

_'til you're glum and you bum_

_And turn blue_

MARK

_Why do we loathe her when she's mean?_

JOANNE

_Her signs can be obscene_

_Ohhhh, Maureen…._ (For the 'ohhh' part, the sign used would look as if Joanne was strangling an air-Maureen-person)

BOTH

_The Tango Maureen!_

(Instead of Life Support, we have Deaf Support – a support group for people with cochlear implants, or thinking of receiving one. The deaf community view cochlear implants as cultural killers and unfit to stand in society. Not quite deaf, not hearing enough, they have formed a sub-culture. This has replaced the AIDS theme from the original).

Deaf Support

GORDON

_Look – I find some of what you think_

_suspect_

_Because I'm used to relying in intellect_

_But I try to open up to what I don't know_

ROGER and GORDON

_Because reason says I should had it_

_Three years ago_

ALL

_There's only us_

_There's only this_

_Forget regret or sign is yours to miss_

_No other road_

_No other way_

_No day but today_

(Working on "Out Tonight", "Another Day" and "Will I". Can't wait to post up "La vie Deafie" - that one is my favorite so far!)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: ("Out Tonight" has been a headache to me all night and I've decided to put that song on hold – not sure if I want to keep the original lyrics or change the song completely… but it won't detract much from the story if I hold that song for later since the next ten are done on the list and I really want to get up "La vie Deafie" today - it's at the end of this chapter…)

(Dorm room of Roger and Mark. Mark is no where to seen – probably went to get a Coke from the vending machines in the hall. Roger is alone, tuning up his guitar still. Mimi enters the room, from "Out Tonight" (on the balcony above). "Another Way" – Roger doesn't see the need to learn sign language, Mimi convinces him otherwise.)

Another Way

ROGER

Who do you think you are?

Barging in on me and my guitar

Little girl, hey, the door is that way

You better go you know

The fire's out anyway

Take your notebook – take your sidekick

Your sweet messages I just can't pick

Well take your hair in moonlight

Your brown eyes – goodbye, goodnight

(Muttering to himself)

I should learn sign I should learn sign

I should learn sign I should – no!

Another time – another place

Our temperature would climb

We'd have long conversations

We'd share our emotions

It'd be another play

Need communications?

Show me another way

Another way

MIMI

The hands may freeze or they can burn

The pain will ease if you can learn

There is no future, there is no past

The world itself is changing fast

There's only us, there's only this

Forget regret or sign is yours to miss

No other road, no other way

No day but today

ROGER

Excuse me if I'm off track

But then if you're so deaf

Then tell me – why do you attack?

Take your sidekick

Take your little notebook

And don't forget

Turn off that damn cochlear implant

Long ago – you might've lit up my heart

But the fire's dead – ain't never ever

Gonna start

Another time – another place

The signs would only rhyme

We'd be in hearing space

It'd be another song

We'd sign another way

You wanna prove me wrong?

Show me another way

Another way

MIMI

There's only us, only tonight

We must let go to know what's right

No other course, no other way

No day but today

MIMI, ANGEL COLLINS, MARK

I can't control

My identity

I trust my soul

My only goal is just to be

There's only now

There's only here

Be who you are

No need to hear

No other path

No other way

ROGER

Control your temper

She doesn't see (understand)

Who say there's a soul

Just let me be

Who do you think you are

Barging here on me and my guitar

Little girl, hey, the door is that way

MIMI

No day but today

ROGER

The fire's out anyways

M, A, C, M

No day but today

ROGER

Take your notebook, take your sidekick

M, A, C, M

No day but today

ROGER

Take your brown eyes, your pretty

Smile, your silhouette

M, A, C, M

No day but today

ROGER

Another time, another place

Another rhyme, give me some space

M, A, C, M

No day but today

ROGER

Another dance, another way

Another chance, another day

M, A, C, M

No day but today

(Deaf Support – they talk about how the Deaf community prefers its members to sign – but people find that with the cochlear implant, they are losing their sign skills if they don't hold onto them and use them – they wonder if the Deaf culture will accept them after their implantation or if they think they are betraying the culture.)

STEVE

Will I lose my sign skills? Will the Deaf care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

nightmare?

Will I lose my sign skills? Will the Deaf

Care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

Nightmare? Will I lose my sign skills? Will

The Deaf care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

Nightmare? Will I lose my sign skills? Will

The Deaf care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

Nightmare? Will I lose my sign skills? Will

The Deaf care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

Nightmare? Will I lose my sign skills? Will

The Deaf care?

Will I wake tomorrow from this

Nightmare?

(On the Street – dreaming of a place called Sign Café, a place where sign language is spoken. Orders are told in sign language. Waitresses converse in sign language. Cooks too. Everyone. A Deaf-friendly establishment where non-signers are frowned upon).

Sign Cafe

ANGEL

Cal State U

MARK

Uh huh

ANGEL

Center of the Universe

COLLINS

Sign it girl

ANGEL

Times are shitty

But I'm pretty sure they can't get worse

ROGER

I hear that

ANGEL

It's a comfort to know

When you're signing the hit-the-road blues

That anywhere else you could possibly go

After Cal State would be… a pleasure cruise.

COLLINS

Now you're talking

Well, I'm thwarted by a cultural puzzle

and I'm sick of teaching hearing that I know

And I'm signing in my sleep

I need a muzzle

And all this misery pays no respect, so

Let's open up a restaurant like Sign Cafe

Friendly Sign Cafe would be nice

We'll open up a restaurant like Sign Cafe

And leave this to the hearing people

Oh-oh

ROGER, MARK and ANGEL

Oh-oh-oh-oh

ANGEL

You sign?

COLLINS

Yeah – I sign – in PSE

But people would rather I speak English

ANGEL

Hearing world

MARK, ANGEL, ROGER, COLLINS

Hearing world!

COLLINS, ROGER, MARK & ANGEL

You're a sensitive aesthete

Brush the sauce onto the meat

You could make the menu sparkle with rhyme

You could drum a gentle drum

I'll sign with guests as they come

Chatting not about AGB (Alexander Graham Bell), but

Wine!

Let's open up a restaurant like Sign Cafe

Ah oh

Our labors would reap cultural gains

Sign Cafe

ROGER and MARK

Gains, gains, gains

COLLINS

We'll open up a restaurant like Sign Cafe

And save from destruction our signs

COLLINS, ROGER, MARK & ANGEL

Save our signs

We'll shut up our mouths tight and sign it

Our way

Devote ourselves to signing ASL

We'll open up a restaurant in Sign Cafe

Forget this noisy hearing hell

Oh, oh – Ohhhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh

COLLINS

Do you know the way to Sign Café?

You know, ASL… deaf people...

COLLINS, ROGER, MARK and ANGEL

Yeah!

(On the street, still – on the way to the protest. Angel asks Collins to move in with him into the Deaf Dorm (and from there, they become lovers ; )

I'll Sign With You

ANGEL

Live in my dorm, I'll be your roommate

Just pay me back

With one thousand signs

Be my lover – I'll sign with you

COLLINS

Open your door, I'll be your tenant

Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet

But sweet signs I've got to share

I'll be there and I'll sign with you

BOTH

I think they meant it

When they said you can't show love

But I know you can sign it

A new friend you are, my love,

In life – share my life

Just let me in I'll be your new friend

Wherever – Whatever –

ANGEL

You'll be my king

And I'll be your castle

COLLINS

No you'll be my queen

And I'll be your moat

BOTH

I think they meant it

When they said you can't show love

Now I know you can sign it

A new friend you are, my love

In life – all my life

I've longed to discover

Something as true as this is

COLLINS

So with a thousand sweet signs

I'll sign with you

With a thousand sweet signs

I'll sign with you

When you're worn

Out and tired

When your ears have expired

ANGEL

When you're deaf and you're lonely

You've got one nickel only

With a thousand sweet signs

I'll sign with you

With a thousand sweet signs

I'll sign with you

BOTH

Oh my friend I'll sign with you yeahhhh

Oh my friend I'll sign with you

(Protest space on the platform. The TV pull-down film screen is set up, magnifying Maureen to ensure those in the last rows can see her signing. Others gather on stage to watch her protest and help moo. Most of the original lyrics have been retained but now with a new meaning. The cow, Elsie is an interpreter who has yet to be recruited by Sorenson (Cyberland). Elsie is forbidden to terp for them outside of Sorenson – Diet Coke video relay. Basically she is leading them in a protest against Sorenson taking over the interpreting workforce, hence the 'mooing'.)

Over the Moon

MAUREEN

Last night I had a dream

I found myself in a desert called

Cyberland. It was loud.

My canteen had sprung a leak and I was thirsty

Out of the abyss walked a cow – Elsie. I

Asked if she had anything to drink

She said, I'm forbidden to produce milk

In

Cyberland, we only drink…. Diet Coke

(vp, vp, vp, vp)

She said, "Only thing to do is jump over

The moon."

They've got interpreters all gone

Like schools and courts and universities….

And replaced it all with lies and

Beeps and virtual terps (terps, terps, terps) But there is a way out…"

Leap of faith, leap of faith

Leap of faith, leap of faith

"Only thing to do is jump over the

Moon"

Leap of faith, leap of faith

Leap of faith, leap of faith

I gotta get outta here

It's like I'm being tied to the hood of a

Yellow rental truck

Being packed in with fertilizer and fuel

Oil, pushed over a

Cliff by a suicidal Mickey Mouse

I've gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta Gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta ...  
Gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta  
Find a way to jump over the moon  
Only thing to do is jump over the moon  
Leap of faith, leap of faith

Leap of faith, leap of faith

Then a little bulldog entered.

His name (we have learned) was

Benny

And although he once had

Principles, he abandoned them to work for Sorenson

Using video relay interpreting services

1,2,3 "that's bull" he said

Ever since the cat took up the fiddle

That cows' been jumpy

The dish and spoon were evicted from the table and eloped

She's had trouble with her milk and that moon ever since

Maybe it's a hearing thing, 'cause who'd wanna leave

Cyberland anyways? Walls ain't so bad.

The dish and the spoon for instance,

They're down on their luck,

They come knockin' on

And I say 'Not in my backyard, utensils!  
Go back to China'!" Be De Bah!  
"The only way out is up" Elsie whispered to me  
"A leap of faith. Still thirsty?"  
PARCHED (parched, parched, parched, parched)  
"Have some milk"  
And I lowered myself beneath her swollen udder  
and I sucked the sweetest milk I had ever tasted  
"Climb on board" she said.  
And as a harvest moon rose over Cyberland  
We reared back  
We sprang into a gallop  
Leaping out of orbit!

I awoke singing

Leap of faith, leap of faith  
Leap of faith, leap of faith  
Only thing to do  
Only thing to do is jump  
Only thing to do is jump over the moon  
Only thing to do is jump over the moon  
Over the moon  
Over the ... Moooooooo  
Moooooooo  
Moooooooo  
Moo with me  
Please sir could you give me a little

Moo?  
Moo yes!  
Moo YES!  
Moo with me!  
Moooooooo  
Moo!  
Yes Moo with me!  
Yes it sounds beautiful!  
Moo!  
Let me hear you New York City!

Thank you!

(And NOW, my personal favorite 'translation' (of my favorite song). I think it's self-explanatory – takes place at a restaurant off-campus to celebrate Maureen's protest as usual. No Life Café, shame… but the tables pushed together to form one long table is a must – for all signers to be able to see everybody, so it's a cultural thing too.)

La vie Deafie

ANGEL

Who died?

BENNY

My cell phone

ANGEL, ROGER, COLLINS

Evita

BENNY

You make fun yet I'm the one

Attempting to do some good

Or do you really want a language

That even monkeys are taught

To use?

Deafie, Deafie

A fallacy in your head

This is oralism

Deafie is dead.

MARK

Dearly beloved we gather here to say our

Goodbyes

COLLINS & ROGER

Dies irae, dies illa, kyrie eleison

Yitgadal v'yitkadash

(Sign in various foreign sign language such as British SL, French SL, etc etc)

MARK

Here it dies, no one knew its worth

The late great language of mother earth

By these rights when we

Celebrate the birth

In that little school for the deaf in Paris (pronounce Pa-ree)

We raise our glass – you bet your ass to

La vie deafie

ALL

La vie deafie

La vie deafie

La vie deafie

La vie deafie

MARK

To signs of inspiration

Fingers playing, making

gestures that mean something

The need to express

To communicate

To going against the grain

Signing insane, signing wild,

To communication, to acceptation,

To Open and closed captions,

To starving for attention

Hating convention, hating pretension

Not to mention, of course

Hating AGB and Milan

To practicing your speech

Everyday to please them

To signs – To protest-

To EMG – to choice (Edward Miner Gallaudet)

To the N-A-D (National Association of the Deaf)

To the Baby Sign fad

To being an us for once…instead of a

Them!

ALL

La vie deafie, la vie deafie

Mr GREY

Ahhemm…

MAUREEN

Hey mister, we're capital D Deaf

WAITER

So that's five Deaf signers, four hard of hearing

Three deaf studies majors, two CODAs that can sign

And one deaf without sign skills

ROGER

How?

COLLINS

He understands

MIMI

If you speak and sign

WAITER

and thirteen signers in all

is that it here?

ALL

A – S – L!

MIMI & ANGEL

To hand-crafted signs

Made up by the third world deaf

To TC, to speech, to ASL and Cued

Speech

To black shirts, to Line 21, to I love you

(Line 21 – the line on television set aside for captioning)

To Jack Gannon and "Deaf Heritage"

MAUREEN & COLLINS

Expression, inflection, to causing a

Commotion,

Ambition, equation,

MARK

Deaf President Now

(1988 DPN movement to overthrow a hearing president of Gallaudet University in favor of a deaf one)

MAUREEN & COLLINS

Advocation, A-D-A, to lawsuits when it's due

(Americans with Disabilities Act)

COLLINS

To Veditz (Guy who recorded ASL on film long before "The Jazz Singer")

ANGEL

To Eastman

(Deaf playwright who penned "Sign Me Alice", a parody of "My Fair Lady")

4 GIRLS

To Signing Time too

COLLINS & ROGER

Marlee, Bernard, Linda and Deanne

(Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God), Bernard Bragg, Linda Bove (Sesame Street) and Deanne Bray (Sue Thomas, FBEye) – various Deaf actors and actresses)

COLLINS

Dummy Hoy

(Deaf pro baseball player)

ROGER

Shoshannah

(Shoshannah Stern – the next Marlee Matlin)

MAUREEN

To Deaf Way!

DEAF PEOPLE

To Clerc, to Cogswell. Thomas Gallaudet too

(Laurent Clerc, Reverend Cogswell and TG set up the first school for the Deaf in the US at American School for the Deaf)

MARK & MIMI

Why Gally students marched to the

Capitol

To blow off E Zinser

(DPN movement – see above)

ALL

La vie Deafie

Mr GREY

Deaf?

MAUREEN & JOANNE

Deaf and Proud

ANGEL & COLLINS

CODAs!

MARK, ANGEL & MIMI

Deafies, Hearies, interpreters

Hearing aids, cochlear implants

F M Systems

TTY, text, sidekicks and pagers

Flashing doorbells bright red

Children of a Lesser God

ALL

To Sorenson, to Hamilton, to sprint

CSD

Video relay, ASL students, ABC

To no shame – never playing the Name

Game

COLLINS

To name signs

ALL

To translation, it's between Terp and me

To PSE

BENNY

Waiter…waiter…waiter…

Waiter!

ALL

La Vie Deafie

COLLINS

In honor of the death of Deafie an

Impromptu salon

Will commence immediately following

Dinner…

Maureen Johnson, just

Back from her spectacular one-night

Engagement at the eleventh street lot

Will perform in French Sign language

Backwards with the opposite hands while

Trying to fingerspell "cat" and "dog" at

The same time

Which she ain't ever studied.

ROGER

And Mark Cohen will preview his new

Documentary about the cochlear

Implant controversy within the deaf

community

MARK

And Mimi Marquez, clad in a cochlear implant

Will perform her famous listening test

To the sounds of computer beeps warbling

And Roger will attempt to interpret

A totally confusing English song

That doesn't remind us of ASL 1 students

COLLINS

Angel Dumott Schunard will model the

Latest hearing aids

From Canada while accompanying herself

On the 10 plastic pickle tub

ANGEL

And Collins will recount his exploits as

Anarchist-

Including the tale of the successful

Reprogramming of the R.I.T.

(Rochester Inst of Technology – one of the other Big Three deaf-friendly college campuses)

Virtual reality equipment to self-destruct

As it broadcasts the words

ALL

Actual Reality – Act up – Fight Audism!

MIMI

Excuse me – did I do something wrong?

I get invited – then ignored all night long

ROGER

I've been trying – I'm not lying

No one's perfect. I'm not hearing

MIMI

Life's too short babe, time is flying

I'm looking for CIs that goes with mine

ROGER

I should tell you

MIMI

I'm not hearing too

ROGER

I should tell you

ROGER & MIMI

CIs…

ALL

A – S – L!

MIMI

Battery break

ROGER

You?

MIMI

Me. You?

ROGER

Mimi…

(END OF ACT ONE)

(INTERMISSION)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello everybody! I know, I know - I've been out of the loop for a year or two. College, yup. But the good news is that I'm coming back to this show - and not only going to finish it but entirely rewriting it. Rewriting it to fit the play script instead of the movie script. But not only that - I feel there are some songs from other musicals that wud fit in nicely, such as Cell Block Tango from Chicago (where Mimi, Maureen, Mark, Roger, Angel and Collins poke faults at hearing people that did them injustice) and thinking of others. If you can think of any other songs that might fit in the sequence for this show, please share with me. Also, thinking of writing several original songs to slip in between - such as a replacement of "You'll See" where I felt was not strong enough and wanting something along a combination of "Why Can't the English" from My Fair Lady and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from A Little Mermaid (Benny feels its his duty to "help" deaf people which he considers are "inferior" to him. The libretto will still be predominantly RENT but with "flavors" of other musicals ; ) Some of the songs, most importantly Out Tonight and Another Day were giving me headaches and thinking of replacing those… Need a song where someone sings about how the world divides itself on communication methods and politics…. For Over the Moon, I rewrote it to go with the 2006 protest at Gallaudet (Unity for Gallaudet) which ties in nicely with the time frame (CSUN in 2006 ish) Another song I was thinking of adding - FAME. (or PAH!) Almost done with the reworking of La vie Deafie (both parts! ; ) and Cell Block Tango.

Again, I apologize for not updating as often as I should have but I can guarantee you that I have not abandoned this project. Version 2 is better and makes more sense.


	6. Chapter 6

Cell Block Tango

MIMI: Voice

MAUREEN: Terp

MARK:Lunch.

ROGER: Nuh-nuh

ANGEL: Questions.

COLLINS: Speech!

MIMI: Voice

MAUREEN: Terp

MARK:Lunch.

ROGER: Nuh-nuh

ANGEL: Questions.

COLLINS: Speech!

VOICE: And now the six merry roommates of the Deaf Dorm in their rendertion of 'The Cell Block Tango'

MIMI: Voice

MAUREEN: Terp

MARK:Lunch.

ROGER: Nuh-nuh

ANGEL: Questions.

COLLINS: Speech!

(repeat 4 times)

ALL: They had it comin!

They had it comin'

They only had themselves to blame!

If you'd been there

If you'd seen it

ANGEL:

I betcha you'd have done the same!

MIMI: Voice

MAUREEN: Terp

MARK:Lunch.

ROGER: Nuh-nuh

ANGEL: Questions.

COLLINS: Speech!

(repeat 2 times)

MIMI (spoken)

You know how hearies have these little habits that get you down. like Daddy...Daddy liked to corrected my speech. No, not correct, criticize! (sign criticize with fist not finger)

so I came home this one day, and i am really tired, and i'm looking for a bit of a break, and there's bernie, watching me talk, and just waiting, to correct. no, not correct, criticize. SO I said to him, i said, you pick on my speech one more time..." and he did..So I took the implant off my head, and I throw it at him...into his face

ALL:

He had it coming

He had it coming

He only had himself to blame

If you'd have been there

If you'd have seen it

I betcha you would

Have done the same!

MAUREEN (spoken)..

I met this cute guy from salt lake city about 2 years ago and he told me he was deaf...we hit it off right away. So we started living together...he'd go to work, he'd come home, i'd massage his hands, We'd have sex. and then i found out...deaf he told me... deaf, my ass. Not only was he hearing, oh no, he owned (or worked at) sorenson (they are based in salt lake)...one of those "good terps" you know. so that night, we he came home from work, i massaged his hands as usual..you know, some guys just can't handle broken fingers...

ALL:

They had it coming

They had it coming

He took a world view

In its prime

And then they used it

And they abused it

It was an issue

But not a crime!

MARK (spoken)

now i'm stiitng in asl class, practicing the sign for dinner, trying my best to learn, and here comes my teach wayne, in a signing rage. "you been signing like that?" he says. He was crazy, he kept on signing, "lunch like this not that" (SIGN: "eat noon" not --overexxagurated- D on mouth" and then he made me sign it his way --sign it his way ten times

ALL

If you'd have been there

If you've have seen it

I betcha you wud have done the same!

ROGER (spoken in Cued Speech)

(something along the lines of how his parents didn't sign to him, instead they made him cue and he didn't like it - wanted to sign - did it and parents got in a rage)

MARK (spoken)

Yeah, but did you 'get it'?

ROGER

Uh Uh. Not always.

ANGEL

My sister, Veronica and I had our deaf parents and deaf brother Charlie, we used to go to the mall together. Now, one of the times we went, we got 20 rude questions in a row. One, two three four five driving? Sign language? Read lips? All deaf? One right after the other. Then this one night we're out to eat at this restaurant at the mall, the five of us chatting, having a good laugh when we run out drinks. Mom summons the waiter, he comes over, takes out paper and writes can you read and WRITE and shoves the paper in my moms' face. Well I was in such a state of shock, I completely blew up. I can't remember it all but I know that waiter, if he sees deaf people again, he'll never be that rude.

ANGEL

They had it coming

ALL

They had it coming

ANGEL

They had it coming

ALL

They had it coming

ANGEL

They had it coming all along

ALL

They had it coming all along

ANGEL

Why I done it

ALL

Why I done it

ANGEL

Why? PAH! Deaf can do!

ALL

Why? PAH! Deaf can do!

ANGEL

How could you tell me that I was wrong?

ANGEL

They had it coming

ALL

They had it coming

ANGEL

They had it coming

ALL

They had it coming

ANGEL

They had it coming

ALL

They took a world view

ANGEL

All along

ALL

In its prime

ANGEL

Why I done it

ALL

And they use it

ANGEL

Why? PAH! Deaf can do!

ALL

And they abused it

ANGEL

How cold you tell me that I was wrong?

ALL

It was an issue, not a crime!

COLLINS

I hated speech therapy more than I could possibly say, it was a real difficult thing, tiring, never perfect..I was always trying to figure it out. i practiced everything night and when i'd go to speech, he'd say no, the wrong r or t or k or s. I finally said forget speech cuz it didn't make a difference. i looked at my speech therapist and spit IN HIS FACE

ALL

That stupid hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing

That stupid hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing

GROUP 1

They had it coming

GROUP 2

They had it coming

GROUP 1

They had it coming

GROUP 2

They had it coming

[Group 1  
They had it comin'  
[Group 2  
They had it comin'  
[Group 1  
All along  
[Group 2  
All along  
[Group 1  
'Cause if they used us  
[Group 2  
'Cause if they used us  
[Group 1  
And they abused us  
[Group 2  
And they abused us  
[ALL  
How could you tell us that we were wrong?  
[Group 1  
He had it coming  
[Group 2  
He had it coming  
[Group 1  
He had it coming  
[Group 2  
He had it coming  
[Group 1  
He only had himself to blame.  
[Group 2  
He only had himself to blame.  
[Group 1  
If you'd have been there  
[Group 2  
If you'd have been there  
[Group 1  
If you'd have seen it  
[Group 2  
If you'd have seen it  
[ALL  
I betcha you would have done the same!  
MIMI

You criticize me one more time!

MAUREEN

Deaf my ass

MARK

Time-noon.

ROGER

No more cued speech.

ANGEL

Can you read or write?

COLLINS

S P Eccch (as in forget it)

MIMI: Voice

MAUREEN: Terp

MARK:Lunch.

ROGER: Nuh-nuh

ANGEL: Questions.

COLLINS: Speech!


End file.
